Sometimes Life is Just Too Much
by KateGreysFan
Summary: What I thought would happen in 3x12. A member of Addison's family comes to the hospital, causing Addison to take a look at her life and decisions. It's good, I promise! Mainly Addex, a bit of MAddison, but ultimately Addex. CHAPTER 40 ADDED FEB 27!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my prediction for 3.12, so there will be quite a bit of Addison/Mark and Addison/Alex interaction (not completely sure at this point what the pairing will end up being, if there will be one at all). Also, a member of Addison's family will come to the hospital, which will mix things up a bit.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy, although I really wish I did. **

The sound of Dr. Addison Montgomery's 4-inch stiletto heels hitting the floor echoed throughout the sterile halls of Seattle Grace Hospital as she walked toward the nurse's station while making notes in a patient's chart. "Whoa, watch where you're going," she heard a voice say as she nearly collided with another person.

"Oh, hey Mark," she said when she looked up from her chart. "Mrs. Cunningham, room 4305," she told the nurse behind the desk as she handed her the chart.

"Dr. Montgomery? I was assigned to you today." Addison looked over and saw Alex Karev approaching her.

"What's the matter, Karev, miss the gynie squad? I knew you couldn't handle plastics," Mark said with his trademark smirk on his face.

"Mark, isn't there another intern you should be enslaving right about now?" Addison said as she shot him a look.

"Addison…"

"I know, Mark, not this week. Gotcha." She turned her attention to Alex, who she had been avoiding ever since their near kiss in the neo-natal ICU. "Okay, Karev, we have a 35-year-old woman with ovarian cancer who needs a fetal evacuation and a hysterectomy later this afternoon. If you're nice maybe I'll let you do the evacuation by yourself. Until then, go prep her, go over the precautions with her once more. She's an emotional wreck right now, understandably so, so try to be as supportive as possible."

"How far along is she?" Alex asked.

"10 weeks, so the evacuation process shouldn't be too complicated."

"Alright, cool." Alex took the chart from Addison and walked toward the patient's room.

"Wow, that sucks. Ovarian cancer, pregnant, and getting an abortion and hysterectomy in one day and only 35 years old," Mark said, seemingly sincerely.

"Yeah, it does. But you have to do what you have to do to take care of yourself. Excuse me," Addison said as she started to head off in the same direction as Alex did.

"Addison," Mark said and she turned around to look at him. "We need to talk."

"I know. We will, just not now. I can't…not now." Addison turned around and walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Grey's Anatomy.**

"How is everything going in here?" Addison asked as she walked into the room.

"I just sent down her last pre-op labs and she's all prepped and ready to go," Alex said.

Addison nodded. "Good. How are you feeling Mrs. VanMorrison?"

"As good as can be expected, I guess." Mrs. VanMorrison was a young 35-year-old, with dark brown hair and light brown eyes. She wiped her eyes with a Kleenex and tried not to cry.

Addison came over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Sarah, I know this is a very hard thing to go through, but it's the best thing to do to give you a fighting chance at getting better."

Sarah VanMorrison nodded. "I know, I do. It's just…my husband wanted children so badly, and he was so excited when that stick turned blue a few months ago, and so was I. Then all of a sudden I'm bleeding and told I have ovarian cancer, and after today I won't be pregnant anymore, and I won't be able to ever have children."

"I'm so sorry, Sarah. I wish I had better news for you, or a different way of doing this. But you're lucky we caught it this so early, and you have a real chance of beating this. There are always other ways to have children as well. I know it's not the same, but you guys can still have a family."

"I know. And we've talked about adopting and egg donors."

Addison let out a small smile. "Well, everything will work out for the best. Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Okay, good. Dr. Karev, come with me. Sarah, an orderly will be in shortly to transport you down to the OR. I'll see you there."

"She's handling that remarkably well," Alex said to Addison as she made a final note in the patient's chart and started walking toward the elevator.

"Yeah. I think reality finally sunk in and now she's looking to the future. She was a mess for the past two day, though. When you get news that your dreams of having kids are ripped to pieces, you are bound to be irrational for awhile. But you have to pick yourself up, look at your options, and do what's best for you in the long run, even if it's not what other people want."

"You have to lookout for yourself," Alex said as he hit the button for the OR floor.

"Exactly." The doors closed and there was an awkward silence. Finally, Addison looked over at Alex. "Look, Alex, about the other day…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

"No, it's not your fault. You have no reason to be sorry. I just don't want there to be any awkwardness between us. You are really talented and even though you may not like it, you do have a natural gift for obstetrics. So, can we just forget it happened?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Okay, good."

"Good."


	3. Chapter 3

Addison looked down at her hands as she scrubbed out of the surgery, a small tear escaping the corner of her eye. Alex looked over at her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I am…or I will be. It was a risky surgery. You did a great job with the evacuation though, Karev. I just didn't expect her to bleed out from a hysterectomy. That shouldn't have happened."

"You did everything you could. Don't beat yourself up."

"I know. It just…sucks. Okay, now I have to go inform the husband, excuse me." She threw the towel she was using in the trash and headed for the door.

"Addison…" she turned around and looked at Alex. "Do you want me to do it?"

"Thanks Alex, but I should really be the one to do it."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

She thought for a moment. "Sure, thanks."

"No problem," he said as he followed her out the door.

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

Later that afternoon Addison was sitting outside eating her lunch when she heard someone sit down. "Mark, not now."

"No, I know. I heard about your patient…I'm sorry."

"Thanks," she said quietly as she looked back down and picked at her garden salad. "The food in this hospital sucks."

"I got Yang to get me a sandwich from the deli down the street, want half?"

"Pastrami?" He nodded. "Sure, thanks. How the hell did you get Christina Yang to go get you food?"

"I can be very convincing." Addison just stared at him. "Okay, fine, I promised I'd let her scrub in on a facial skin graft I'm doing on a patient this afternoon."

"Ah, okay then." They ate the rest of their lunch in a companionable silence, even though they both had plenty to talk about and a lot on their mind. Mark knew Addison always was depressed after losing a patient, so he decided this was definitely not a conversation to have at this moment in time, even though he needed to have it with her sooner rather than later.

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

"Dr. Montgomery," Alex said as he approached the nurse's station where she was reading an email.

"Ah, Dr. Karev. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing. I just brought you a cup of coffee."

"Oh, thanks," she said as she took a sip. "And thank you for coming with me earlier to talk to Mr. VanMorrison. It's always hard to tell someone that their loved one passed away, but I appreciate you being there for extra support. It made it a little easier."

"Oh, well I'm happy I could help. Alright, back to work."

"I'll see you later. And thanks again, for earlier and for the coffee."

"You're welcome." He gave her a slight smile and then walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks HuntingPeace for my first review :)  
**

"Alright guys, I'll see you later," Alex said as Izzie and Meredith paid Joe and left the bar. They were going back over to the hospital since George's dad was still unconscious and George could really use the support of his friends. Alex would have gone as well, but since he and George weren't that close, he figured it'd be better if just Izzie and Meredith were there. "Another beer please, Joe."

"Ah sure thing Alex," Joe said as he handed Alex another bottle of Miller Lite. "You seem weird tonight, what's up with you?"

"Nothing. Addis—err, Dr. Montgomery and I lost a patient this morning on the table."

"Oh, I'm sorry man, that sucks."

"Yeah, well that comes with the territory."

"So are you back on the 'Vagina Squad' as you call it?" Alex nodded. "What happened to the plastics slave train?"

"Sloan was pissing me off. I worked with that ass for like three weeks and I never got to actually scrub in on a surgery once. Even though the gynie squad isn't my first choice, at least I'm learning something and able to scrub in. I guess it's not as bad as I thought it would be, and it is actually kind of rewarding."

"Well Karev, I never thought I'd hear you say those words," Addison said as she came and sat down at the bar. "A vodka tonic please, Joe."

"Of course, Addison."

"Well, Dr. Montgomery, I'm drunk, so you can't take anything I say seriously," Alex said.

"No he's not. He's only on his second beer."

"Thanks, Joe. Really," Alex said as he glared at the bartender who just ratted him out.

"Aww Karev, don't worry. I won't tell anyone you actually enjoy working for me," Addison teased as she sipped her drink. "So what brings you here? Hot date?"

Alex laughed. "No. Izzie and Meredith were here earlier, but they went back over to be with George at the hospital, so I figured I'd just chill here."

"Ah…how is his dad doing?"

"Still no change. He's still sedated and intubated, and his kidney function is still normal, but they really don't know anything yet." Addison nodded. "Are you sure you're okay? You can talk to me, you know. I know I've been an ass in the past, but I'm a good listener."

Addison chuckled. "Yeah I know, and you are. My life is just really complicated right now…I'll be fine though."

"You sure? Is this about Sloan? 'Cause you know he's an ass."

"Yeah, well he has his reasons, at least this week anyway." Addison looked down at her drink, and tried to change the subject as to not invite anymore questions. "Feel like playing a quick game of darts?"

Alex knew she was still hiding something, but he didn't press her. "You're on. Loser buys winner a drink?"

"Deal."


	5. Chapter 5

"So who won?" Joe asked as they came back over to the bar ten minutes or so later.

"Joe, get the lady a vodka tonic on me."

"Nice work, Dr. Montgomery," he said as he handed her the glass.

"Thank you, Joe."

"Yeah, you neglected to tell me you were the undefeated darts champion of your med school class," Alex whined as he bought a beer for himself.

"Well of course I didn't, 'cause then you never would have agreed to it," he rolled his eyes as he took a swig of his beer and they went and sat down at a table. "Aww, cheer up Karev, you were pretty damn good—it was a close game."

"I can't believe I lost at darts to a girl though. Man I'm glad Meredith and Izzie aren't here, because I'd never hear the end of it."

"Haha, well your secret is safe with me," she whispered to him.

"Yeah, thanks." He looked back at her and was taken by surprised when she reached her hand out and stroked his cheek. He quickly let go of his inhibitions and she leaned in to kiss him. He gently parted her lips with his and sweetly kissed her. The months of tension between them and their frustrations with their close calls in the past came pouring out in an electrifying moment. A few seconds later they pulled apart and he looked her in her eyes. "Wow, that was umm…"

"Yeah…wow." She looked down and fiddled with the drink in her hands as they both started to chuckle. "Alrighty, I should go since I have an early surgery in the morning. It's a fetal tumor removal if you're interested at eight o'clock."

"Yeah definitely."

"Okay. Well, thanks for the darts, and for the drink," she said as she stood up and put on her coat.

"You're more than welcome. I'm actually going to take off too if I'm scrubbing in at 8am tomorrow." Alex walked up and paid his tab and walked with Addison to the door. "Goodnight, Addison."

"Goodnight, Alex." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before he walked down the street toward his apartment, leaving her with a surprised smile on.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know this is short, but the Mark/Addison confrontation/conversation is next, so this is just filler.**

Addison was waiting for the elevator when she heard footsteps approaching. "Here you go," Alex said as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks Alex. Ready for the surgery?"

"You bet."

"Addison!" She turned around and saw Mark walking toward her and silently swore under her breath. "Come find me after your surgery—we really need to talk."

"Okay, fine." She was dreading having this conversation, but tried to forget about it as she stepped on the elevator to go down to surgery. As soon as the doors closed she let out a sigh of relief and turned to face Alex. "Thank you, Alex."

"For what?"

"For last night. You have no idea how much I needed a fun night to get my mind off of everything going on."

"Oh, you're welcome. It was fun. But my offer still stands—if you ever need to talk, let me know."

"Thanks. I may take you up on that later."

"How about tonight? What time are you does your shift end?"

"Umm…I should be done around 6:30."

"Okay, so how about dinner at 7?"

"Sure."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: And here is the conversation you all have been waiting for. You'll get the general idea of what happened here, but I will go into more detail soon. And congrats to Grey's Golden Globe win!  
**

After her surgery, Addison paged Mark to let him know she was done. She went to the doctor's lounge and found him sitting at the table reading a newspaper. "Hey, Mark," she said as she leaned against the door frame, not looking forward to the moments to come.

"Addison…how could you not tell me you were pregnant."

"Well, you just cut right to the chase, don't you."

"Addison…"

"Mark, I didn't know what to do."

"You didn't want a baby?"

"No, I did…" she walked into the room and closed the door behind her. "…I just didn't want one with you." She could see the hurt in his eyes as he dropped his head and leaned on the table. "Mark, I'm sorry. I really am."

"Yeah, well, Addison, that doesn't change the fact that you didn't tell me you were pregnant. You didn't even give me the chance to prove to you that I could be a good father."

"Mark…" By this point Addison could no longer hold back her tears and she slid her back down the wall and sat on the ground. "Mark, I never meant to hurt you, and it had nothing to do with your ability to be a father. I just couldn't do it. I didn't know what else to do."

"How about talking to me first…there's a thought."

"Mark, Derek slept with Meredith at prom, I called you out here for a one-night stand that resulted in your staying in Seattle, Derek and I split up, I slept with you again and ended up pregnant, somewhere along the way you slept with Callie…What other choice did I have?"

"Addison, look, I may be an ass. Fine, I'll give you that. But seriously, it never occurred to you to tell me that you were pregnant? I didn't get any say in this whatsoever."

"I know Mark…I messed up. But from my perspective there was nothing else I could do. I don't have the time or strength to go through a pregnancy right now, and you say you're in love with me and you cheat on me; you come to Seattle to try to win me back and then sleep with one of my best friends here…I couldn't bring a child into that environment. Kids deserve the best Mark, and we're not it."

"Is this about Karev?"

"What? Mark, what the hell are you talking about? What does Alex Karev have to do with any of this?"

"Oh don't tell me there's nothing going on with you two. He's been going into your surgeries even when he's assigned to me, he looks at you the way Meredith looks at Derek, he's brought you coffee when you didn't ask him to…is that why you didn't tell me? Because if you're pregnant with my child then you couldn't pursue your romp in the sack with the intern?"

"Mark, you are so out of line," Addison said as her tears were replaced with anger and she got up off the floor. "Alex came into my surgeries to learn something since he wasn't getting any practical experience from you, and he brings me coffee because I don't ask him to run ridiculous errands and because he's a genuinely nice guy. He's not an ass like some men I know. As far as the pregnancy was concerned, fine, maybe I should have told you. But I can't change the past, and if it were up to me you never would have found out in the first place. And even if I did tell you, I still wouldn't have had the baby. I physically cannot put myself through this right now. It's too screwed up. It wouldn't be fair to me, and it definitely wouldn't be fair to a child."

"What about what's fair for me?" Mark asked.

"Mark…"

The door to the room opened and both Mark and Addison were caught off-guard and looked over to see Olivia come in. "Sorry to interrupt, doctors, but Dr. Montgomery, someone is here to see you…she said it's really important."

"Who is it?"

"Holly Montgomery."

Mark and Addison exchanged a look as Addison took a deep breath. "Okay, tell her I'll be there in a few minutes." Olivia closed the door and Addison grabbed a Kleenex and wiped the mascara that had run under her eyes.

"This isn't over Addison," Mark said in a stern tone, still visibly hurt from their prior conversation.

"Yes Mark, it is. I have nothing more to say to you." Addison threw the tissue in the garbage and slammed the door behind her.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews :) **

As Addison walked down the hall she could see the 22-year-old girl sitting in a chair near the nurses station. Addison smiled as she studied the girl for a second before approaching her. She wasn't nearly as tall as Addison, only about 5'5, but that's because she took after her father, who wasn't very tall—actually, height is the only trait that she and her father shared. The girl had long reddish brown hair with layers that framed her face and bright blue eyes that were intently reading the Cosmopolitan in front of her. She was very stylish, not unlike Addison, wearing black Manola Blahnik stiletto pumps, a black knee-length skirt and a black off the shoulder sweater with a thin red belt around the waist. Addison took a deep breath and walked over to the young woman. "Holly, what are you doing here? Are you okay?"

"Well, I hope so, but that's why I'm here," Holly said as she stood up and Addison immediately pulled her into a hug.

"Oh, okay…well what's wrong?"

"Well I'm coaching a high school cheerleading squad part-time, and when I was at practice yesterday I was demonstrating a tumbling pass and when I landed on my left foot I had this stabbing pain and fell, which is how I got this," she said as she rolled up her right sleeve to show Addison her wrist splint.

"Is it broken?" Addison asked, concerned.

"No, it's just a slight sprain…I've had much worse."

"God, yeah, I remember when you were little and just got into gymnastics you were flipping all over the house and you'd always end up injuring yourself. I swear the doctors all thought we were abusing you."

"Yeah, well I was just really excited and wanted to practice what I had learned. Apparently doing cartwheels near the top of the stairs wasn't my best idea."

"Yeah, ya think?" They both laughed. "Come with me, and we can go talk," Addison said as she wrapped an arm around Holly's waist and lead her to the elevator to take her to an exam room.

"Hey, who's the mini-Addison?" Christina asked as she walked past them in the hallway and ran into Izzie and Meredith, who had been watching the scene from the nurse's station.

"I have no idea," Meredith said.

"Me either, but the resemblance is uncanny," Izzie stated.

"Seriously. You don't think McDreamy and Addison have a kid do you?" Christina asked.

"No, there's no way. That girl has to be 20 at least, which means Addison would have been like 19 when she gave birth, and Derek didn't know her back then," Meredith said.

"Do you think Addison has a secret daughter?" Izzie asked.

"I have no idea, but it's really none of my business," Meredith said, closing a chart. "Alright, I have a spinal tumor removal to get to."

"Hey, ask McDreamy about Addison Jr. while you're there," Christina said.

Meredith rolled her eyes and walked off.


	9. Chapter 9

The women walked into an exam room and Holly jumped up on the table while Addison sat on the counter. "So what's the deal with your foot?" Addison asked, concerned.

"Well, I've had a very dull pain in my heel for a few months now, but I just assumed I bruised the bone or something while coaching. It wasn't a big deal until yesterday. I seriously thought I was going to pass out from the pain."

"Wow, okay. Well, I'm going to go page our orthopedic resident and she can come in and talk to you since she'll have more answers for you than I will."

"Thanks Addison."

A few minutes later Addison returned to the room. "Okay, Dr. Torres is in surgery right now, but she should be done within an hour. I have to go do a C-Section in a few minutes, so you're more than welcome to come watch from the gallery if you want."

"Awesome, thanks."

"Alright, let's go then." The girls exited the room and walked back toward the elevator. "Karev, you free?" She shouted at Alex as she saw him walking down the hall.

"Yes, Dr. Montgomery."

"Good. Want to perform a C-Section?"

"Seriously?"

"If you want it it's yours, unless you want to go back to plastics. I'm sure Mark has some very important dry-cleaning for you to go pick up if you would rather do that," she said smirking as she subtly winked at him.

"Nah, the vagina squad is much more interesting," Alex said as he stepped onto the elevator with the two women.

"Good. Oh Alex, this is my niece Holly, Holly, this is my intern Alex Karev."

"Nice to meet you Dr. Karev," Holly said as she shook his hand.

"You too, and hot friends of Addison's can call me Alex." Holly blushed as Addison laughed and playfully hit Alex.

They got off the elevator and Addison and Alex walked toward the scrub room. "Okay Holly, go up that staircase there, and that will take you to the gallery. If anyone gives you any crap about being up there tell them who you are and that I said it was okay."

"Cool. Thanks again, Addison, and it was nice to meet you Alex," Holly said as she walked up the stairs.

"So you're hitting on my niece now?" Addison laughed as she started washing her hands in the scrub sink.

"Why would I hit on her when I have her hot older aunt right here?" Addison rolled her eyes as she tied on her surgical mask and walked into the operating room, leaving Alex smirking behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm going to try to get a good portion of this up before the episode Thursday, because I want my entire Addison/Mark theory out there before anything is shown on TV, in case in the off chance I'm actually right, I won't be accused of copying. **

**And thanks again for all the reviews. You are all amazing! **

After the surgery Addison paged Callie and walked with Holly back to the exam room. "Hi you must be Holly," Callie said as Addison and her niece walked into the room. "So Addison said you've been having heel pain for the past few months?"

"Yeah. It just got really bad yesterday."

"Okay, well take off your shoe and I'll take a look."

"Hey Holly, I have some paperwork I need to do, but I'll be back in a little bit."

"Okay, thanks Addison."

"Okay, well first of all, if you're having foot pain, I would not recommend wearing 4-inch heels all the time," Callie said as she started looking at Holly's foot.

"It actually helps with the heel pain because it takes the pressure of my heel. Plus they're too cute and I certainly paid enough for them, so sometimes a little pain is worth it."

"You sound just like Addison. Does this hurt?" Callie asked as she pushed on her heel and Holly cringed.

"Yeah."

"Okay. Well it definitely looks a little swollen. And what is this scar from?" Callie asked as she ran her finger over an inch-long scar on the outside of Holly's heel.

"I had a bone graft the summer after my senior year of high school. I was hardcore into gymnastics and I broke my heel so they had to put some screws in."

"Ah okay. Alright, well let's get you an X-Ray, and we can go from there."

"Okay."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: As promised, here's more. I'm really trying to get as much out as I can tonight before I have to start doing homework and such. I know what I want to happen in the end, and since I'm basing the Holly storyline on personal experiences I definitely know what's happening there, so I should have chapters 12 and 13 up tonight, maybe even 14 if you're lucky :)  
**

Callie stood in a small room looking at Holly's x-rays on a light board. "You paged me, Callie?" Addison asked as she walked in the room.

"Yeah, I thought you might want to see this."

Addison walked over and looked at the films, her eyes immediately focusing on the large bright spot on the heel on the x-ray. "Damn it."

"Yeah."

"Have you talked to her yet?" Addison asked, turning to Callie as tears formed in her eyes.

"No, I thought you should see this before I went in and told her."

"Yeah, thanks. Alright, well let's go." Callie nodded and took the films off the board as she followed Addison out of the room and down the hall.

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

"Oh, hey Alex," Addison said as she ran into him. She turned to Callie, "Hey, go ahead in and tell her. I'll be there in a second." Callie nodded and continued walking down the hall.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked her when he saw that her eyes were red.

"I don't know," she said as a few tears escaped and ran down her cheek. Alex quickly pulled her into an on-call room.

"What's wrong Addison?" He asked her, wiping away a stray tear.

"My niece…Alex, can we do dinner another night? I think it'd be best if I stayed here tonight."

"Sure, totally. Whatever you need to do Addison." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. After a minute or so she pulled away.

"Thank you, Alex."

"Anytime," he said as he pulled her in for a quick hug once more and kissed the top of her head.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. I'm so happy that you guys like this...you're making me a very happy writer! It makes me want to keep writing and not do my stupid French homework :)  
**

"Cancer?" Holly asked Callie in disbelief as she looked at the x-rays in front of her. Just then, Addison walked into the room.

"Maybe, we don't know for sure yet," Callie said.

"How are you doing Holly?" Addison asked as she came in and sat next to her niece on the table.

"I'm just…I can't believe it. I could have cancer?" She said it again, still shocked at what they were telling her.

"It's a possibility. It could be an infection, or a severe inflammation, which is why we need to get you some more tests and then do a bone biopsy for final confirmation one way or another."

"Okay…" Holly tried to digest all this information. "Okay…when?"

"We can get you an MRI and a CT scan first thing tomorrow morning, and then a bone scan tomorrow afternoon. After that we should know more, and then I can go in and do the biopsy on Friday morning."

"You can't do the other tests tonight?" Holly asked. "I'd like to get this all done as soon as possible."

"I wish I could," Callie started, "but radiology is really backed up with bus accident victims."

"Oh."

"Waiting one more day won't make a major difference, and Dr. Torres is the best resident you could ask for," Addison said, trying to stay strong for her niece while trying to hide her own concern.

"Okay, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Holly said as she stood up, visibly shaken from the news she just received.

"Okay," Callie nodded as she watched Addison and Holly walk out of the room and then let out a sigh. "This sucks."


	13. Chapter 13

"Addison, what am I going to do?" Holly asked her aunt later that night, sitting on the couch in Addison's hotel room. Addison had invited Holly to stay with her at the hotel since it was closer to the hospital, and so they could catch up since they hadn't seen each other in so long.

"Holly, if it turns out that you have cancer, then you fight like hell. Hopefully it won't be, but it is treatable with a pretty high success rate. I've known you your whole life, and you've never been one to give up on a fight."

"I know, I'm just in complete shock. You always hear about this happening to other people, but you never think it will happen to you."

"Yeah…" Addison finished mixing their drinks and handed a 7&7 to Holly. "So, how's school going?"

"It's going well. Medical school is a hell of a lot harder than I expected, but I love every second of it. I'm just hoping I won't miss too much while I get this whole foot thing figured out."

"Well, look at it this way, at least you're getting some first hand experience. You can watch surgeries in your spare time and then impress all your professors when you come back and can tell them step-by-step how to do a craniotomy."

Holly laughed as she took a sip of her drink. "Very true…and speaking of craniotomies and neurosurgery, how are things with Derek now?"

"They're better now, I guess. It was really awkward for awhile with him and Meredith walking around all happy and cute all the time, but we're past that initial weird phase."

"What about Mark and Derek, are they friends again yet?"

"I really have no idea. I try not to mention Mark's name whenever I actually talk to Derek."

"Yeah good call. So what about Alex?" Addison just stared at Holly. "Oh come on, you could cut the sexual tension between you two with a knife. Seriously."

"Ugh, yeah. I don't know. He's an intern, and I really don't want to turn into Derek. Plus there's Mark, and things are really complicated there right now, so I don't know. But Alex is such a sweet guy, and we hung out last night and had an amazing time…I don't really know yet what's going on there…"

"Aww, you're blushing. You're totally into him." Holly laughed at her aunt's obvious embarrassment as she grabbed a handful of pretzels from the bag. "Just do it, you know you want to. He seems like a really great guy, and who cares if he's younger than you. You spent 10 years married to Derek, you could use someone new—someone who isn't Mark and isn't going to cheat on you."

"Yeah, that's true. Things are just so complicated right now," Addison sighed as she took a drink.

Holly could hear the tension in her aunt's voice. "Addison, what aren't you telling me?"

"What? Nothing."

"Oh come on Addison, I know you too well for you to try to hide something from me."

Addison took a deep breath as she stared at the glass in her hands and then looked up at her niece. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"I could use something to take my mind off of the fact that I might have cancer, so yes. Besides, I'm a good listener."

"Okay…"

**A/N: The next chapter will be a flashback to what happened with Addison...if I get at least 2 reviews on this chapter then I'll post the next one tonight :) Otherwise, I can't make any promises since I have some communication reading and French h/w to do. boo college.**

** P.S. WTF is up with this site? I edited my summary like 2 hours ago and it still hasn't taken affect, and it doesn't show when I have updated chapters. grrr.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: YOU GUYS ROCK! Well, since I got more than 2 reviews on that last chapter, I'll put up this one tonight. This is it though because I have French at 9am tomorrow, so I really need to get some sleep. I do have the rest of the flashback written out, so it will be up sometime during the day tomorrow. It's a good cliffhanger to leave you all with tonight though. Goodnight :)**

One Week Earlier…

_Addison had just gotten back to her hotel suite after a long stressful day at work. She not only had a patient lose a baby, which had affected her more than cases like this usually did, but she was also a week late and had no signs of PMS like she usually would. The only part of her day she actually enjoyed was when she bonded with Callie, although she wished it wasn't due to a patient's tragedy, and she liked that Derek was out of the hospital all day on some stupid camping trip She had also learned that Mark had been sleeping with Callie, but it's not like she should care since they weren't back together and she was only using him for some hot sex to get over Derek. _

"_Shit," Addison thought to herself as she sat on the floor of her hotel room bathroom staring at two positive pregnancy tests on the floor in front of her. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"_

_She knew it had to be Mark's, because she hadn't slept with Derek since before her last period, and she had slept with Mark twice since then. There was no way she could have a baby—not now, not like this. Mark was no where near responsible enough to take care of himself, let alone a child, and even though a very large part of her still loved him, she couldn't allow herself to get hurt by him again—not after he cheated on her back in New York. Addison Montgomery had to learn to care for herself, as her friend Miranda told her, and not let any man define who she is. Until she was capable of doing that, Addison couldn't bring a child into her screwed up dynamic. _

_As Addison sat on the floor she devised a plan in her head: she would get a definitive test at the hospital in the morning, because there was no sense in freaking out if these home tests were wrong (although she knew they weren't, but she held out hope). She couldn't imagine getting an actual abortion—she was an OB/GYN, her job was to save the lives of mothers and babies—but she couldn't have a child either._

The Next Day:

"_Thank you Miranda for doing this…really," Addison said as she held a cotton ball on the small needle puncture wound in the crease of her elbow._

"_No problem. So are you going to tell me what this is about?" She asked as she handed Addison the small vile of blood._

"_I can't…not yet anyway. But thank you, truly. I owe you."_

"_Glad I could help." Miranda threw her gloves in the bio-hazardous disposal and left Addison alone in the exam room. Addison took a deep breath and held back tears as she got up and went to drop off the blood sample in the lab._

_After lunch she stopped back at the lab to get the results. "Damn it," she said as she looked at the words "Pregnancy: Positive" on the piece of paper in front of her._

" '_Damn it' what?" Derek asked coming up behind her as he dropped off a sample of his own for the lab technician. _

"_Oh, just some bad news for one of my patients."_

"_Aw, I'm sorry. I'll see you around, Addison."_

"_See ya, Derek." Addison took a deep breath as she put the results in her lab coat pocket and walked down the hall. She knew what she had to do next, and even though she didn't love the idea, it was the only thing she could do. _


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: This is a continuation of the flashback... Some of my medical information may not be 100 accurate, but yeah, just go with it. lol. Thanks again for all the reviews, and I cannot believe we get to find out tomorrow what the deal is. yay! I'll post a few more chapters of this before I go to my dance class this evening, and then as many more as I have written out tonight.  
**

"_I need this prescription filled ASAP," Addison told the pharmacy technician as she slid him a piece of paper._

"_Sure thing Dr. Montgomery. Wait, who is the patient? There's no name on here."_

"_I know. She obviously really wants to keep this as private as possible, since she has some family who work here. I told her I would just wait for it here so I can take it to her directly and I wouldn't have to put a name on it. All payments will be done through me."_

"_Uh…okay then. Give me five minutes and I'll have it for you, Doctor."_

"_Thank you," Addison said as she sat down in a chair next to the pharmacy window. _

_A few minutes later the pharmacy tech returned to the window. "Dr. Montgomery? Here is the prescription you asked for."_

"_Thank you. And please don't say anything about this to anyone. I know we're all bound by confidentiality anyway, but things circulate among doctors and like I said, this patient has some family who work here and I don't want it getting back to the wrong people."_

"_Of course, Doctor." Addison nodded as she carried the bag and got on the elevator. Once the doors closed she looked down at the bottle and ran her fingers over the label before quickly shoving it in her purse. The elevator stopped on the main floor and she got off and walked out of the hospital to her car to drive back to her hotel._

_She got back to the hotel and immediately went up to her room. She opened her purse and picked up the pill bottle, once again looking over the label: Mifepristone. She opened the bottle, took out the three pills and jostled them in her hands while she thought about it. She briefly considered telling Mark to get his thoughts, but then she quickly realized she shouldn't bother telling him since she already knew what she was going to do: what he didn't know couldn't hurt him. She looked down at the three RU-486 pills in her hand and quickly swallowed them. Now all she had to do was wait..._


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: More flashbacks...again, most of the medical stuff is just what I found when I did a google search for facts on RU-486 (the abortion pill, for those of you who aren't familiar with the name). I know a lot of people are worried they're making Addison have an abortion, or that she had one back in NY, but this is just my prediction as to one likely possibility. Hopefully you guys can all read this without letting your personal views of pro-life/choice influence your thoughts too much...I tried to handle this as delicately as possible while still addressing the controversial storyline by showing the repercussions of her actions. Although if you have any comments on the way I addressed it, please give me your feedback.**_  
_

_The next day she didn't notice much of anything, other than some nausea and some minor cramping. Finally that night she started spotting, and the following two days she called in sick to work as the intended purpose of the medication started taking effect. After a few days she had stopped bleeding and confided in Miranda, who gave her a pelvic exam to make sure everything had gone properly. "Everything seems okay, Addison, but it was really stupid of you to do this and not tell anyone ahead of time. You know that the side effects of that drug can be dangerous."_

"_I know, I just didn't want to tell anyone until it was done. But everything looks good?"_

"_Yeah, you should be fine. You'll need to take some antibiotics though for a week or two, just to be sure that you don't get any infections or go into shock, and look out for any additional bleeding" Miranda said as she wrote out a quick prescription for Addison. "Let me know if you need anything."_

"_Thank you again, Miranda."_

"Wow," Holly said as she sat in shock at all she was just told.

"Yeah."

"So are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I haven't had any problems since then—physically anyway. I've been on an emotional rollercoaster, but that's to be expected. Mark certainly hasn't made it any easier," Addison said as she chugged the remainder of her drink.

"What did he do now?"

"He's been so angry all week, and we finally talked today and ended up in a pretty heated argument. Thank God Olivia came in to get me when she did or who knows what would have ended up happening between Mark and me—I just wish you weren't the patient she needed me for."

"Yeah, I wish I wasn't either. But wait a second, how does Mark know? I thought you didn't tell him?"

"Yeah, I didn't…"

** A/N: The next chapter will be about how Mark finds out... **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Another flashback...enjoy :) In Grey's time, this is a day or so before the first day in "Six Days"**_  
_

_Six Days earlier_

"_One second!" Addison yelled as she quickly tied on her robe and went to the door of her hotel room. She had taken a hot shower in order to relax and try to take her mind off of everything that was going on. "Oh, hey Mark," she said as she opened the door. "What's up?"_

"_Can we talk?"_

"_Uh…sure, come on in. I'm just going to go get changed really quickly. Help yourself to a drink if you'd like." Mark nodded as Addison went back into the bathroom and changed into a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked as she came back out, poured a glass of wine for herself, and sat down next to Mark on her bed. _

"_Look, I know we've gone through a lot of shit recently, and I've been an ass, but I miss you, Addison."_

"_Mark…"_

"_No, let me finish. I love you, Addison. I've loved you since the first day I met you, but so did Derek so I took a step back. That night in New York when you came over because Derek had stood you up for the tenth time that month and we hung out and talked all night long was more meaningful to me than any date I had ever been on, or any relationship I had ever been in. The first time we were together I didn't care that I was risking losing my best friend, because I got to be with you." _

"_Mark, that's really sweet. And you know how I feel about you, or how I felt about you, but my life is too complicated right now—there's too much going on, there's too much history with us that hasn't been resolved yet…"_

_Mark stood up and started pacing back and forth. "So let's resolve it. Addie, I know you're scared. I know I cheated on you back in New York, which was the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life, and I'm so sorry I did that to you. I've been kicking myself for that mistake, and I want you to give me a chance to make it up to you…" Mark stopped talking when something caught his eye in the trashcan. He bent down and picked up an empty prescription bottle. __"Addison, what the hell is this?"_

"_What?" She looked at him confused, silently cursing herself for leaving the "do not disturb" sign up on her door all week so the housekeeping staff never came in to empty the trash._

"_Mifepristone? Addison, are you pregnant?"_

"_No, I'm not."_

"_Were you?"_

_Addison looked down at the floor as she held back tears. "I was, yes."_

"_Addison, how could you not tell me?"_

"_Mark, I can't talk about this right now," she said, tears running down her cheeks._

"_Fine, at least tell me this…when did you find out? When did you do this?" He asked as he threw the pill bottle on the bed next to her._

"_I found out last week, and I got the final okay from Miranda a few days ago," she said quietly._

"_Unbelievable. I cannot believe you would do this. This is the most selfish thing you have ever done, and that's saying something, Addison. Totally unacceptable." Mark looked at her with disgust as he turned around and stormed out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Addison couldn't hold back any longer and so she laid back on her bed and let the tears fall. _

"Oh my God, that sucks. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Addison said as she threw on a sweatshirt and laid down on her bed.

"Wow. I don't know what to tell you. That's such a hard situation."

"Yeah, well, that's what I get for having meaningless stupid drunken sex. Let this be a lesson to you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Holly said as she set up a pillow and blanket on the couch.

"So Holly, any new men in your life?" Addison said, wanting to lighten the mood. She missed gossiping with her niece.

"Not really. I've been so focused on classes so far that I haven't had much time to worry about dating, let alone relationships. Plus I dated Connor for the last two years of college, so I need to be on my own for awhile. But there are a lot of hot guys walking around the med school campus, so we'll see."

"Haha, well keep me updated."

"Totally."

"Goodnight, Holly," Addison said as she turned out the light.

"Goodnight, Addison," Holly said as she laid awake on the couch, trying not to worry about the tests and surgery to come.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews, and for bearing with my through the Addison/Mark controversy. This chapter is very medical-heavy with details about Holly and stuff, but it's needed in order to transition into the next part (I can't really take credit for writing it, because it's pretty much word for word what I was told when I had the same surgery for the same thing 8 years ago, but I digress...credit to Dr. Peabody for all of Callie's lines lol). **

**Coming up in the next few chapters: the background of Addison and Holly's relationship, Holly's diagnosis, and what will happen with Addison/Mark and Addison/Alex. Thanks again for all the reviews, and I'll have at least 2 more up tonight because I already have them written, and anything else I can get out I will :)  
**

The next day Addison successfully avoided Mark all day, mainly because she was in surgery for 8 hours straight. When she was finished she went to find her niece, who was talking to Callie in an exam room.

"The MRI and CT scan gave me a better look inside your heel, but I can't tell whether or not it's cancerous based on the scans alone. There is no bone tumor there, but we won't know anything until we get the bone sample and send it to pathology to be tested," Callie said as Addison walked in. "Hey Addison, I was just updating Holly on her test results."

"Oh, well don't let me interrupt," she said as she looked at the chart.

"As I was saying, we still don't know anything. But, the full body bone scan showed that whatever it is has not spread to any other parts of your body, so that's a very good sign. If it is cancer, we're catching it early enough that it's concentrated only in your heel and can be treated with a pretty positive outlook. Your white blood count is high, which is to be expected since your body is fighting against whatever it is that's attacking the bone."

"Okay, so what do we do after the surgery?" Holly asked.

"We'll know the results in about two weeks. If it is cancer, then we'll probably start with radiation therapy as long as the cancer isn't too advanced, and then do some chemo treatments as well. Another option would be to go in again and clean out the affected bone in combination with either radiation or chemotherapy. If it's an infection, we'll continue to grow the bacteria in the lab to determine the organism that's causing the infection. After that, we'll prescribe antibiotics to take for at least six months, get some follow up tests done, and go from there."

"Okay…so tomorrow at noon?"

"Yes. Don't eat or drink anything after midnight. The surgery should only take an hour at the most, and as long as there are no complications you'll be free to go a few hours later."

"Are there any dangers to the surgery?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary… it's a relatively standard procedure. You'll have some pain and be on crutches for at least two weeks, but I'll give you a prescription for Tylenol with codeine which should help."

"Okay, thank you Dr. Torres," Holly said as she got up off the table.

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ready to go?" Addison asked as Holly put on her jacket.

"Yeah, but don't you have to work?"

"Nope, I took the rest of the day off. I had a long surgery earlier, and I really don't feel like dealing with Mark, so I'm all for leaving. Want to go get dinner?"

"Sure."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Time for some backstory! Enjoy, and let me know what you guys think of this storyline. I have one more to post tonight, maybe more depending on whether or not I get another chapter written before I have to write my French essay that's due tomorrow. I will wrap it up by tomorrow night, though, I promise! Then I have 2 more fics to post on here :)  
**

The next morning Addison drove Holly to the hospital and took the day off to be with her niece. "Good morning, Holly," Callie said as she walked into the waiting room. "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be."

"You'll be fine, hun. I'll see you in an hour or so," Addison said as she hugged her niece before Holly was taken into surgery. After Callie had wheeled her out of the room, Addison let out a sigh and walked to the doctor's lounge where she laid back on the couch resting her arm over her forehead.

"You okay?" Addison looked up to see Alex standing in the doorway.

"Callie just took Holly into surgery. I'm just freaking out at the thought that my niece could have cancer."

"Addison, you don't know that yet. I looked at her chart and regardless the prognosis is good, so you have nothing to worry about," he said as he came and sat down next to her, sipping his coffee.

"You're right, and I know that, but it just sucks. Holly's been like a little sister to me, and I don't want to see her go through that."

"How come you're not up in the gallery?"

"I can't watch that. If something were to happen…I don't want to be there for that—I can't watch."

"Can I ask you something?" Alex asked as he handed Addison his coffee and she took a drink.

"Sure. I may not answer, but you can ask."

"Where are Holly's parents? If my kid were in the hospital getting a biopsy done, I'd want to be there."

Addison nodded. "Holly never knew her dad. He was my sister's high school boyfriend, and freaked out when my sister got pregnant—we never heard from him again. My sister, Caroline, was only 15 and James was a senior and headed to college. Caroline had the baby and I was getting ready to head off to college at NYU that fall. Then my dad got really sick, so I lived at home those first two years to help my mom take care of him and to help with Holly while Caroline finished high school. My dad died in halfway through my freshman year, and my mom put all her energy into raising Holly.

"After Caroline graduated high school she went into my mom's real estate business and became really busy, so she put Holly into gymnastics so she'd have somewhere to go after school while she was at work. As Holly got older, she and her mom butted heads a lot, and when she was in high school she went to boarding school in New York. She decided she wanted to go to medical school, so I got her a job as an assistant in one of the departments at the hospital where I was working so she could get a feel for what it was like to work in a hospital. She and I would try to have lunch or dinner together every day, so naturally we became very close during those four years. She got a gymnastics scholarship at University of Washington, so she moved here her freshman year of college and then got into their med school. As far as I know, her mom has never come out here. I asked Holly if she had called her mom to let her know what's going on, but she said she didn't want to say anything until she knew what the test results were."

"Wow. Well she's lucky to have you as an aunt," Alex said as he gave her a comforting smile.

"Yeah, she's a fantastic niece. As much as I hate Seattle, it's nice to live close to her again. I missed hanging out with her when she was here and I was still in New York. I don't know what I'm going to do if those results come back positive. I can't…" a few tears escaped down her cheeks. "I can't imagine losing her."

"Addison…shhhh…" Alex pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her as she cried. "She'll be fine. Whatever the results, you guys will get through this and she'll be fine."

"I know, I'm just so stressed out right now," she said as she sat back up and wiped the tears from under her eyes. "Thank you, though. I needed that."

"No problem." He was about to say something else when he got paged. "Damn it, I have to take this. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. And don't think I have forgotten about our dinner date the other night…sometime next week?"

"Yeah, whenever you're ready to go let me know and I'll be there," he said as she smiled and he left to go answer his page.

Addison laid back down on the couch and took a deep breath as she looked at the clock: it had been a half hour since she had gone in for surgery. She tried to take a nap but after five minutes she got up and decided she'd go get some work done so she could at least be somewhat productive.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: This is a pretty short chapter, but it's just another one of those that has to be done to tie everything together. More drama and stuff to come. I think this is the last one for tonight cuz I have a paper to write :(  
**

"And what do you think you're doing?" Chief Webber asked Addison as he walked over to the nurse's station.

"I'm charting…" she said, barely looking up from writing. "I would think you would recognize the action."

"Addison…you're not supposed to be working today."

"I'm not working…do you see me delivering any babies? I am charting. I'm allowed to chart on my days off, in fact, I often do chart and do paperwork on my days off."

"Addison…."

She shut the chart, took off her glasses and looked up at him. "Fine. I'm freaking out, so I'm trying to take my mind off of it."

"Addison, as your Chief of Surgery, and as your friend, I'm telling you to go sit in the waiting room with the rest of the patient's families. Today you're not a doctor, you're a concerned aunt. Go."

Addison rolled her eyes and walked down the hall toward the waiting room.

"Addison!" She turned around when she heard someone call her name. "I was just coming to find you."

"How'd it go?" Addison asked Callie with a frightened look in her eyes.

"It went well. She's in recovery now but she's just waking up from anesthesia, so she's pretty out of it. You can go see her whenever you'd like."

"Thank you, Callie."

"You're more than welcome. I'll stop by in a little bit to check on her." Addison nodded as she turned around and headed for the post-op wing.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I know, another filler/transition chapter, and it's really short. But this is all I had time to write last night after I posted chapter 20, and I'm going to breakfast in 10 minutes and then have class in an hour. So, I should be back from class around 4:30 (Chicago time), I'm eating dinner briefly, and then I plan on writing from 5:15 up until Grey's airs. So that being said, this will have to hold you over until 5:30 or so tonight, and then I'll post what I have as I have it. I actually don't think this entire fic will be done by tonight, but you never know. All the Addison/pregnancy related stuff will be, though, because I want to see how close I am to what they actually do.**

**Okay, so now that the author's note is just about as long as the update itself, here you go:**

"Hey you," Addison said as she walked in the recovery room. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh. I'm so tired," Holly said, still very groggy from the anesthesia.

"Well, that's to be expected," she said as she leaned over the railing on the bed. "Callie said the surgery went well, and that you should be able to get out of here later today."

"Awesome."

Addison stayed in the recovery room with her niece until Holly was fully alert. "How are you doing?" Callie asked when she came into the post-op room.

"I'm okay. Addison said that everything went well, so I guess that's all I can ask for at this point. Thank you for everything, Callie."

"You are so welcome, just get better soon! I'll get the results to you as soon as I know. I need you to come back in two weeks to get your cast and stitches removed, and here is a prescription for Codeine. Now, is there anything else you need from me?"

"Umm…no, I don't think so."

"Okay, well if you have any questions you know where to find me. You are free to go, but you'll have to stop down in physical therapy to get some crutches before you leave—you really need to stay off that leg for two full weeks."

"Okay, will do."

"Alright, see you in a few weeks." Callie left the room and Addison helped Holly into a wheelchair so they could go down and get her crutches.

"Thank you so much Addison, for getting me the appointment, for being here, for letting me stay with you…for everything."

"Don't mention it. Ready?"

"You bet."


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: So last night's episode…wow! I loved it. And good news for all of you: I'm feeling much better today, so I've been able to write a few updates. Here is the first.**

The first night after her surgery, Holly stayed with Addison in the hotel, but she moved back to her apartment that weekend so she could continue going to classes. She wanted to get back into the normal routine of things, so she wouldn't drive herself too crazy thinking about the results of her biopsy.

Addison, on the other hand, went back to work that Saturday and was quickly brought back to her own reality. "Addison, I'm sorry," she heard Mark say behind her when she was looking up something on the computer at the nurse's station.

"What?" She asked, almost shocked, when she turned around to face him.

"I'm sorry…for everything. For cheating on you back in New York, for giving you a hard time about your decision. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Mark. And I'm sorry too, for hurting you, I mean. I should have told you." He nodded and walked away, as Addison turned back to continue working, letting out a sigh of relief.

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

"Wow, you look amazing," Alex said as Addison opened the door to her hotel room. She was wearing a nice pair of dark designer jeans and a dark grey camisole with beaded trim. Her hair was down and slightly curled under, and she had just the right amount of makeup on.

"Thanks Alex, you don't look too bad yourself." They had finally agreed to go out on their first official date on the first night they both had off.

He smiled. "Ready to go?"

"You bet." She closed her door and took his hand as they walked to the elevator. As they stepped on, Callie stepped off and sent Addison a knowing look, to which Addison rolled her eyes. "How long before this is all over the hospital?"

"I wouldn't worry about Callie. She's not big on gossip—I'm glad it was her and not Mark on that elevator. But it's only a matter of time before it gets out," Addison said as she leaned against the wall.

"And you don't care what they say?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "No, not really. Derek and Burke are already sleeping with their interns, so why can't I? If they give me any grief about it I'll just play the double standard card."

"But we're not sleeping together…not yet anyway," he said as he winked at her.

Addison laughed. "As I said, Karev, it's only a matter of time." The doors opened to the lobby and they headed out into the night.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: So I tried writing the date for Alex and Addison, but it never came out well, so instead of posting crap, I just skipped it. So yeah, enjoy :) Holly will return soon. **

"Well good morning," Alex said as he gently pulled Addison closer to him, kissed her bare shoulder, and reached over her to turn off the alarm.

"Good morning indeed," she said as she rolled over to face him. They looked at each other in the eyes for a few seconds before she leaned in and softly kissed him. "Last night was amazing…the dinner, the drinks…everything else."

Alex smirked. "I must agree with you there. What time do you have to be at work?"

"My first surgery isn't until 10. Do you have to be there for rounds?"

"Yeah, I have to be there in an hour."

"Damn, I was hoping we could just lay here for awhile."

He kissed her again. "Me too, but duty calls. You should go back to sleep…I'm going to go shower and I'll see you at the hospital." He kissed her on the forehead before rolling out of bed and walking to the bathroom. She smirked and laughed to herself as she stared at his adorable bare ass before getting out of bed herself to go join him.

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

"Dr. Montgomery, care if I join you?" Addison looked up from her newspaper at Alex who had just approached her table.

"No, not at all."

He set his tray down and sat across from her. "How'd your surgery go?"

"Very well…I removed the cyst and she should be fine. How's Sloan treating you?" She asked as she took a bite of her salad.

"Crappy as ever. Do you realize that I've worked with him for nearly three weeks and I haven't once been allowed to scrub in on one of his surgeries? The guy's an ass."

"Well I could have told you that. He's not in such a bad mood anymore, so hopefully it'll get better for you. But yeah, he's an ass to interns. Always has been, always will be."

"So, do you have plans for tonight?"

"No…" she leaned in a bit closer to him and lowered her voice. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing too special…I figured we could go to Joe's, hang out, whatever." He winked at her. "What time are you done?"

Addison smiled. "I have one more surgery today at 4, and then as long as there are no complications or emergencies, I should be out by 6:30."

"Okay, I'm not done until 8, so I'll meet you there at like 8:30 or so?"

"Works for me. I have to go check on some patients. I'll see you then." She stole the apple off his tray and walked away.

"What the hell was that?" Izzie asked as she sat down in the seat that Addison had just vacated. Meredith joined her seconds later.

"What was what?" Alex stared at her.

"You totally just checked her out."

"Who did he check out?" Meredith asked, catching up on the beginning of the conversation she missed.

"Addison," Izzie said, almost in disbelief.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alex said, defensively.

"You checked her out. She took your apple and walked away, and you were totally looking at her ass when she left."

"I was not."

"You and Addison, really?" Meredith asked.

"No. Really not."

"Liar," Izzie said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Whatever," Alex rolled his eyes.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: So even though I couldn't write a sufficient first date, I did try a second date. It didn't turn out quite like I wanted it to, but whatever. This is the last one for tonight. I'll write some more tomorrow and have some up for you at somepoint Saturday :)  
**

When Alex walked into the bar that night, he immediately spotted his new favorite red-head sitting at the bar nursing a drink. "Hey," he said as he walked up behind her and kissed her cheek before sitting down next to her. "Sorry I'm late, but I got held up at the hospital."

"Ah, the doctor's life. I understand." She looked down at her watch, "You're only 10 minutes late, so no need to apologize."

"Well, can I buy you another drink?"

"Certainly."

"Joe, can I get a vodka tonic and a beer please?" Joe nodded.

"Ah, you remembered my drink," Addison said, somewhat surprised.

"Of course I did. It's the first time a girl has ever kicked my ass in darts, so I'm definitely going to remember what drink I had to buy her to hold up my end of the bet."

"Haha, yeah, you sucked that night. Want a chance to redeem yourself?"

"Nah…I lost to you once, so I can blame that on outside factors, but if I lose to you again? That'll just make me look bad."

"Aww poor Alex…afraid I will bruise his ego?" Addison teased him.

"Yeah, actually," he said, causing her to burst out in laughter.

"Good. I'm glad you're honest."

After their drink at Joe's, they went to the Archfield to have dinner and more drinks. "Whoa, is that Callie?" Alex asked as he saw the familiar, tall black-haired woman walk onto the stage by the piano.

"Yeah, she sings here on nights she has off and they give her a huge discount on her room. She's an amazing singer."

They watched from their corner table as the spotlight came on and Callie took center stage in a long red v-neck dress. "Never knew how much I love you, never knew how much I care, when you put your arms around me, I give you fever that's so hard to bear. You give me fever…"

"Wow, she's really good. I had no idea," Alex said, turning his attention back to Addison.

"Me either until I saw her here one night. If I sang like that I'd tell everyone to come see me perform."

"Seriously."

After saying hi to Callie and a few more drinks, Addison and Alex stumbled out of the bar and toward the elevator. The elevator was full of people, but they didn't care. Alex subtly grabbed Addison's ass as he whispered something in her ear, causing her to burst out in laughter.

"Addison? Karev?" They heard a voice behind them in the elevator as the doors closed.

"Shit," Addison said as she turned around… "Richard! How are you this fine evening?" She said, clearly slurring her words and holding onto Alex so she wouldn't fall over.

"I'm assuming you have the day off tomorrow?" He said, noting her obvious intoxication.

"You'd be correct. Alex here was just helping me back upstairs," she said stifling her laughter as he tried to hide his smirk.

"Okay then," he said, clearly knowing something else was going on but knowing that neither Addison nor Alex were in any condition to have this conversation. "I will see you later, Addison, Dr. Karev."

"Chief," Alex managed to squeak. As soon as the door closed they both couldn't take it any longer and let laughter consume them, getting some stares from the other people in the elevator.

They stumbled down the hall toward her room as she fumbled with finding her keycard. They quickly opened the door and went inside, and even though they were both exhausted from the night, they wouldn't fall asleep for several hours.

**A/N: If you haven't seen the video of Sara Ramirez singing "Fever" on Jimmy Kimmel (I think that's the show it was), go do a youtube search for it. It's amazing. **


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: So this is a kinda boring chapter, but it's the diagnosis so it's all the technical stuff. The next chapter will be much more interesting, I promise! I may not have it up until later tonight though, because I haven't finished it yet and I have a lot of work to do, plus meetings and a musical to go to. **

Holly Montgomery walked into Seattle Grace Hospital nervous about the news she was about to receive. Even with her left foot in a cast and on crutches, she was still extremely fashionable—truly a miniature version of Addison. Her long red hair was pulled half up in a barrette, with a few strands framing her face, and she had on a dark brown wrap sweater and designer jeans. She took a deep breath as she waited for the elevator.

"Oh, hi Mark," she said as she stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the third floor, where she would meet with Callie and find out her fate.

"Holly," he nodded. "Addison told me about your surgery—I hope everything works out for the best."

"Thanks Mark," she said, feeling slightly awkward around him after what Addison had told her. Holly always liked Mark, even though he played a large role in the break up of her aunt and uncle, but Addison loved him and that's all she cared about. But after seeing her aunt fall apart in the hotel room a few weeks back as she told the story of her abortion and how Mark had treated her, she couldn't help but feel slightly angry with him.

Holly exited the elevator and walked up to the nurse's station. "Hi, I'm here for an appointment with Dr. Torres."

"Your name?"

"Holly Montgomery."

"Oh, Addison's niece...I'll let Dr. Torres know you're here. Have a seat." Nurse Debbie picked up the phone and dialed an extension to let Callie know her patient was here.

"Holly? Ready to get your cast off?" Callie came out of an exam room and over to the waiting area.

"Yeah, definitely," the red-head said as she stood up and hobbled over to the exam room. She got up onto the table and extended her left leg so Callie could start cutting off the cast. "So, have you heard back from the lab yet?"

"Yeah, I actually got the information this morning."

Holly took a deep breath and looked up at Callie waiting for an answer. "And…?"

"You do not have cancer." Callie smiled as Holly let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God! Wait, so what is it then?"

"It's a severe bone infection called Osteomyelitis."

"How'd I get it?"

"We don't know. It could have been caused by anything—something you ate, something that got into your blood stream from a cut, literally anything. It probably settled in your foot because your bone was already weakened from the bone graft you had four years ago."

"Okay, so what do I have to do?"

"We're going to get you a high dosage of antibiotics, and hopefully that should begin to work. You'll need to get blood tests every month to make sure the antibiotics aren't hurting your blood count, and then a CT scan every three months to check for progress."

"How long do you think it'll take until it's completely better?"

"With the damage it has done to your heel, at least a year of medication, maybe more. When I went in there for the biopsy, it looked like 90 of your heel bone was completely dead, so it'll take awhile for that to revive itself. The pain should get better as the treatment progresses, but if it still hurts you can keep taking ibuprofen to take the edge off."

Addison knocked on the door and then walked into the room. "Callie, you paged me?"

"Yeah, I thought you'd want to know the diagnosis. I just heard back from pathology an hour ago…Osteomyelitis."

"Oh, thank God." Addison let out a sigh of relief and went over to sit next to her niece as Callie took out the remaining stitches.

"So how are things with Alex?" Callie asked Addison as she put on a new bandage over Holly's incision.

"Great, until we ran into the Chief in the hotel the other night after we saw your performance."

"Seriously? Damn. You guys were wasted by the time I talked to you, so I can only imagine."

"Yeah, well he wants me to stop by his office later to 'discuss an important matter', so we'll see how this goes."

"Haha, good luck. Alright Holly you're good to go. I'll want to see you in person in six months so I can check your progress, but until then just get the CT scans and blood tests results faxed over to me."

"Okay, thanks again Callie. Addison, do you have time for a quick lunch or do you have someplace to be?"

"Nope, I'm free until my meeting with the Chief, so let's go."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: This may be the only update today, considering I'm from Chicago and the Bears playoff game deciding who goes to the Superbowl. I also have a crapload of homework and a test tomorrow, so we shall see. This is another filler chapter, and probably the last chapter with Holly (although I am thinking of a sequel with a different storyline). Anyway, here it is. **

"Thanks for lunch, Addison," Holly said as they walked back to the hospital from the café down the street. Holly was relieved to be able to walk without crutches, now that her cast was off.

"You're welcome. And keep me updated on how med school is going for you. You know you're more than welcome to come watch any of my surgeries anytime you want."

"I may have to take you up on that offer, if and when I ever have any time off between doing work for class and coaching."

"Alright, well I have to get to a meeting. Oh, Derek wants you to go say hi before you leave."

"Okay awesome."

"Give me a call sometime when you're free and we can go shopping or something."

"Definitely. Thank you so much for everything, Addison."

"Aww, well what are aunts for?" Addison hugged Holly before heading down the hall to meet with the chief.

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

"Holly!" Derek said as he came down the hall and gave her a hug. "How are you?"

"Good. How have you been?"

"Good. I heard about your diagnosis…you must be relieved."

"Oh you have no idea."

"Well I'm happy everything worked out for you. When Addison told me you were here and what was going on, I was so concerned. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to see you before now, but it's been so busy."

"Oh, I totally understand. And I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out with you and Addison—I know you guys were trying to make it work."

"Yeah, well some things are meant to be, and some things aren't."

"So who is this Meredith girl I've heard so much about?"

"Well, that depends on what you've heard."

"No, I've only heard good things. Addison said you guys are really good together."

"Yeah, she's amazing. She's an intern here, so she should be around her someplace."

Just then, a young blonde intern came running up. "Dr. Shepherd, I scheduled your OR for 3pm today."

"Thank you. Meredith, this is my niece Holly, Holly, this is Meredith."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Holly said as she shook Meredith's hand.

"You too," she said before turning back to Derek. "I have to report back to Bailey before she sticks me back in the pit. I'll catch up with you later, and it was nice meeting you Holly."

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

"Hi Dr. Karev," Addison said when she saw him standing at the nurse's station.

He nodded. "Dr. Montgomery."

She lowered her voice and leaned on the counter next to him. "Has the Chief talked to you at all?"

"No, why?" He asked as he looked over to her.

"He called me into a meeting. I'm actually heading up there now."

"Oh. What are you going to say to him?"

"I don't know. The truth I guess. I don't think it should be a huge deal considering Burke and Derek are both in the same position. You don't care if this gets out, do you?"

"What that I'm sleeping with the hot attending? Nah, not at all." He winked at her. "Alright, I have patients to see. Come find me later."

She laughed as she turned to go up to meet with the Chief.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated! I've been sick again, and been crazy busy with projects and papers for school, but I'm tired of doing work and decided to update. Yay!**

"Chief…" Addison said as she knocked on his open office door and poked her head in. "You wanted to see me?"

"Ah yes, Addison. Come on in and close the door."

Addison took a deep breath as she shut the door behind her and sat down in the large chair in front of Richard's desk. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked as she nervously cracked her knuckles and played with her fingers.

"I think you know…"

She looked down and sighed. "Yeah…"

"You and Karev, in the elevator at the hotel… Is there something going on there?"

Addison sighed. "I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait until I knew it was headed somewhere before I said anything."

"Addison, if you're sleeping with an intern I need to know, whether it's headed someplace serious or is just a fling. Anything that can compromise the workings of this hospital I need to know."

"I know, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. When you saw us that was only our second real 'date', so I hadn't had the chance to tell you yet."

"I understand. Now I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Preston and Derek: what you do in your personal life outside this hospital is not my business until it starts affecting your work inside these walls. I don't want to see you favoring Karev in any way. You can still have him work on your service, but no giving him preferential treatment over the other interns, no pulling any crap like Preston and Dr. Yang did, although I don't think that'd be an issue for you, and for God's sake…no sex on hospital property!"

"Yes, Richard. There won't be any issues," Addison said as she started to stand up to leave.

"Good. Now, there's one other thing I need to talk to you about."

Addison sat back down and looked at her boss. "Yeah?"

"As you know, Adele has been pushing for me to retire, and I'm seriously considering granting her that wish. I'm getting tired, and I love and miss my wife—I don't have time to do this anymore. When I retire, I have to recommend a successor to the hospital Board of Trustees. Preston always assumed it would be him until Derek came to work here. I gave Preston a shot after my brain surgery last year, and he did it well, but the recent stunt he pulled with Yang makes me concerned about his judgment. I'm of course considering Derek since he is a talented surgeon, but I was wondering if you would like to be in the running as well."

Shock came over Addison's face and she stared at him. "Seriously?"

"Yes. You're a fantastic surgeon, and the neo-natal department has never run more smoothly than since you've been here. I've known you since you were an intern, Addie, and you're dedicated and talented, and you don't take crap from anyone."

"Wow, Richard, I never really thought about it since I always assumed that it'd be Derek or Preston, but I'd love to be considered, thank you."

"You're welcome. It might take a strong woman like you to keep the men of this hospital in line." Richard and Addison laughed as she shook his hand and walked out of his office.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Alex asked her when he saw her walk out of his office.

"Really well. He's okay with us and just gave me the same speech he's given every other attending who's dating their intern, but yeah, we're okay."

"Excellent. Drinks tonight?"

"Definitely." They parted ways and went back to work.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: I know, I SUCK! I'm so sorry it's been so long…I've been sick, I'm in the midst of midterms, and the Bears are in the Superbowl! Anyway, here is a long update to make up for lost time. Hopefully I'll have another update this week. This story is going on to be much longer than I originally expected, so we'll see where this goes. I'm so pumped for Thursday's episode, and can't wait to see more MAddison and to see what happens with Addex!**

Addison arrived at Joe's shortly after Alex did, as she had some paperwork to finish and so she told him she'd meet him there. He saw her walk in and walked over to her, and gave her a quick kiss before taking her hand and leading her back to their table. Addison smiled as she sat across from him at the booth and looked at him.

"What?" He asked her, slightly confused.

"I'm just relieved that the Chief knows and is okay with our situation…it's nice not to have to worry about the potential backlash."

"Me too. It was really only a matter of time, though, if you think about it. George married Callie, Derek is with Meredith, Christina and Burke are engaged now apparently…the Chief should be used to the hospital incest by now."

Addison laughed as she sipped her drink. "You're right about that."

"Well, well, well…" they heard a familiar voice approaching their table. "What do we have here?"

"Hello Mark," Addison said as she looked up at him.

"Well if it isn't my favorite intern to enslave and my gorgeous ex, together at a table at everyone's favorite bar."

"Mark, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for my next conquest," he said with a completely straight face.

"Ah, there it is," Addison said leaning against the back of the booth.

"Seriously, you two are together now? Wow, you move awfully quickly don't you?" Mark said, his voice a mixture of sarcasm and bitterness but his eyes showing a glint of anger and betrayal. Addison quickly replied with a threatening look of her own.

"Dr. Sloan, why don't you carry on with your evening and we'll carry on with ours," Alex said, trying to be as polite as possible while still standing his ground.

"Certainly. I just need to talk to your girlfriend here for a quick second. You don't mind, do you now Karev?"

Before Alex could answer Addison slid out of her seat and stood up. "I'll be right back," she said to Alex as she gave him an apologetic look. Mark grabbed her arm, walked her through the back hallway, and led her into the single bathroom, locking the door behind them. "Mark…"

"No, you don't get to do the talking, not yet anyway." Addison was leaning up against the door with her arms crossed as Mark stood in front of her, looking her straight in the eyes. "I don't know what you're thinking, if you're just sleeping with Karev as payback to me, or if it has anything to do with Derek and Meredith, but Addison, it's not fair to him. You and I both know that we're meant to be together. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Mark, why do you just assume that I'm using Alex to fill some need I have to piss you and Derek off? I'm over Derek and have been for some time, and I'm over you. I don't know why you keep pushing this…we're not going to happen. You're beating a dead horse."

"Addison," he said as he stepped closer to her. He continued to look in her eyes, but now his eyes had softened. "You're not over me. I know you too well."

She could feel herself starting to tear up so she quickly looked away to try to gather herself. Mark saw her weakness and leaned in and gently kissed her. Her body began to respond and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back, but only for a second before she stopped it. "Mark, no."

"Can you honestly say after that that you're over me?"

"No." She moved away from the door and went to stand in front of the sink as she examined her hair in the mirror and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She rested her hands on the sink and stared down. "Fine, I'm not over you. I probably never will be, but Mark, we never work out. Something comes along to screw it up. I'm happy right now, with Alex. Why can't you just let me be happy?"

Mark leaned against the door in the same spot that Addison previously stood. "Because Addison, I'm not happy without you—I'm miserable."

"Yeah, that's the impression I've been getting when I leave for work every morning and see a different girl come out of your hotel room."

Mark looked down at the ground. "I know, and I'm sorry. Every time I meet someone, I think that she'll make me happy, that she might be just like you. Do you realize that I haven't been in an actual relationship since you and I were together? I fell in love with you the moment I met you in medical school, but I was already involved with Karen and Derek had already asked you out. After Karen and I broke up and I started hanging out with just you and Derek, it made me so miserable. Seeing the way he looked at you, the way he touched you. I wanted that. I wanted to be with you. When you guys broke up back in our second year of medical school for that month, and you came over and cried on my shoulder every night for a week, it killed me. I vowed to myself that if I ever got a chance with you I wouldn't make you cry."

"But you did Mark. You had that chance with me, and you failed…you failed miserably."

"Do you think I'd come across the country, twice, if I didn't honestly love you? Give me another chance Addison. I know I cheated on you, and it was stupid and weak and I'm sorry. Give me a chance to show you what you mean to me. Alex may be a good guy, I honestly don't know him, but he can't possibly love you as much as I do."

Addison looked down at the ground again before gathering her thoughts and walking up to him, looking him in the eyes. "I'm sorry Mark, but I can't do that. I can't do that to Alex, and I can't do that to myself—not again." She kissed him quickly on the cheek and walked back out to the bar, leaving Mark standing alone in the bathroom.

"Sorry that took so long," Addison said as she approached the table.

"No problem. Are you okay?" He asked her, thinking that her eyes looked a little red.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ready to go? I don't really feel like staying here."

"Sure, of course." Alex helped Addison with her jacket and they walked out the door and headed back to her hotel.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: A short, but eventful update. I'm having a problem…After Thursday's episode, I don't know who I'm shipping for anymore. I almost feel bad for Mark cuz she's using him, and I think Addex would be really hot, but the MAddison scene at the end was too hot to ignore. It's pretty much been determined that Lexie will hook up again since they're going to be the Ross and Rachel of Grey's, but I still want to see some Addex action first. But as for my story, I really don't know, so we'll see where the story takes me. **

They got back to her hotel and took the elevator up to the 22nd floor. Addison subconsciously let her gaze linger on Mark's hotel room door before she snapped out of it and swiped her keycard to enter her own room. "Are you sure you're okay?" Alex asked as he followed her inside.

She looked up at him and saw the reassurance in his eyes. She smiled and walked over to him and looped her arms around his neck. "Yes, I'm fine," she said before she softly kissed him. When they broke their embrace she looked back at him, noticing for the first time his resemblance to a younger Mark, both in appearance and personality. Everyone knew that Alex had slept with Olivia while he was dating Izzie, and she had heard a rumor that he slept with some cancer patient in the bathroom at Joe's. Why would she be any different than Izzie? Everyone saw the way Alex and Izzie looked at each other—they were in love, not unlike herself and Mark used to be—but Alex had slept with someone else. Had he really matured that much in the last few months that he wouldn't do it again?

"What?" Alex asked, sensing something was off, her arms still around his neck but breaking her from her trance.

"Nothing." She kissed him again to reassure him that everything was okay, and hoping it would comfort her. "You know what? I have an early surgery tomorrow, and I need to check on another patient before that. It's late so I should probably get to sleep."

Alex looked at her, somewhat defeated, but nodded. "Okay. I don't have to be at work until 4 in the afternoon tomorrow, so I'll see you later I guess. Give me a call when you're off work."

Addison nodded as she walked Alex to the door, shutting it softly behind him. She leaned her back up against it and slid to the floor, sighing as she ran her hands through her hair. "Shit."


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Okay, so after reading your reviews, it seems like the vast majority of you are Addex rather than MAddison fans (perhaps that's cuz I scared all the MAddison fans away in the beginning with the Addex heavyness?) Anyway, this is becoming somewhat AU since what is happening on the show is going in a different direction than what I'm doing, but whatever. I do know what I'm doing, so be patient. Everything can't be all happy and perfect for the couples, and I personally think that Addison is really conflicted about the Alex situation in the show, and that a part of her still loves Mark. That being said, keep the reviews coming and hopefully you'll all enjoy what I have in store :) **

After sitting on the floor of her hotel room for what felt like hours but was really only a few minutes, she picked herself up and decided to get a drink. She opened the mini-fridge only to find that between her nights here with Karev and her various arguments with Mark, she had finished all of the alcohol earlier in the week. She grabbed her keycard and walked out of her room to go to the hotel bar.

"A Belvedere and tonic, please," she told the bartender as she sat down on the stool of the swanky Archfield Lounge. "Put it on my tab, room 2214," she showed the bartender her keycard and he nodded in compliance.

"Addison?"

Addison looked up as she saw her friend approaching. "Hey Callie," she said as the bartender gave her the drink, which she immediately started to drink.

"Whoa, what's wrong with you?" Callie asked, sitting down next to Addison. "White zinfandel please, Mike." The bartender nodded and handed her a glass.

"Just thinking."

"About…"

"Alex, Mark, the Chief."

"Whoa, wait, the Chief?" Callie looked at Addison incredulously, causing Addison to let out a laugh for the first time all night.

"Oh God no. He told me to consider being Chief after he steps down later this year."

"Seriously? That's fantastic!"

"Yeah…"

"Why aren't you more excited?"

"I don't know, I never really thought about it. And I am excited, I just have so much other stuff going on right now that's overshadowing it."

"Oh boy, what did Mark do now?"

"It's not a big deal. He didn't do anything."

"Addison…"

"No, seriously. I'm fine."

"I don't believe you. If it's not Mark, then it's Alex, so what did he do?"

"Nothing. He's so sweet, and caring…"

"Well something had to have happened…you were so giddy the last few weeks and now it's like a complete 180."

Addison sighed. "I just need to figure some things in my life out. So where's George? I thought you'd be spending every waking hour with that new husband of yours."

Callie blushed. "Yeah. He's in surgery until 10, then he's meeting me here and we're heading out for the weekend."

"Aww, a nice romantic getaway? The honeymoon never ends for you does it?"

"That's the dream," Callie said as she finished the little wine left in her glass. "Ah, and there's my better half. I gotta run." Callie got off the stool and smiled at George. "Let me know if you need anything Addison. You know I'm always here for you."

"Thanks Callie, I appreciate that, but I'm fine."

"I know." Callie went out to the lobby and met George, while Addison ordered a double shot of Southern Comfort, her new shot of choice these days.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: I don't know if any of you are Mer/Der fans, but if so check out my fic "Meredith and Derek meet in College." I posted the first 6 chapters tonight, and I'll post more tomorrow (it's already completely written so it's just a matter of posting them all). Anyway, here's a bit more of this one. And again, please trust me with this. Have faith!  
**

Thirty minutes and many more drinks later, Addison had managed to reject at least two men trying to pick her up and she could see someone sitting down out of the corner of her eye. "Forget it, I'm not interested, so don't waste your breath," she said without even looking at the man next to her.

"Somehow I doubt that."

Addison looked over to see Mark sitting down beside her, getting a glass of scotch from the bartender. "Ugh, why are you everywhere?"

"Well, considering I'm living at this hotel, I wouldn't think it'd be that much of a shock to see me here. So where's Karev?"

"He went home."

"Aww, how sad."

Addison gave Mark and annoyed look as she got yet another drink from the bartender.

"I'm sorry," Mark said, seemingly sincerely. "Why did he leave?"

Addison sighed. "I made him."

Mark tried to hide his happiness. "Really? How come?"

Addison looked over at Mark. "Don't sit there and play stupid. This is just what you wanted, right? For me to start freaking out about everything in my life, ultimately leading me back to bed with you. After all, that seems to be the only thing we can do together where we don't argue."

Mark chuckled. "That's true, but Addison, I didn't want you to start questioning everything in your life, I just want you to consider us again, to give me another chance."

"Why do you think I'm here alone and not upstairs having sex with Alex like I had originally planned? Obviously you made me doubt what I have with Alex, even though he's one of the sweetest guys I have ever met."

"Karev…is sweet? Seriously?"

"Yes. Why is that so hard for you to believe?"

"Because, he's a cocky little bastard."

Addison laughed. "That may be true, but not when he's around me. And you're one to talk."

"I never denied being a cocky bastard either. But you love me for it."

Addison rolled her eyes and Mark gave her the McSteamy smile, just as Addison took yet another shot.

"Okay, I think that's enough for you."

"Nah, I'm good. I can hold my alcohol," she said as she turned the shot glass upside-down on the bar, slightly slurring her words.

"That's your third shot in the five minutes I've been sitting here, and God only knows how many you had before I got here…you're done. I'm cutting you off before you do something you regret. Besides, don't you have a surgery in the morning?"

"Oh, shit. You're right. Thank you Mike for all the drinks," she waved to the bartender as she jumped off the barstool, falling into Mark.

"You still think you're fully functional and can hold your alcohol?" He asked her as she slowly got off his lap and stood up, almost falling over again.

"Okay, maybe not," she said as she gripped the bar for support. Mark stood up and put an arm around her waist to guide her to the elevator.


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Okay, so my viewership went down a lot on the last few chapters, and I only had one review...is everyone mad that Addison is considering Mark and everything isn't all bright and shiny? I promise there will be more Addex scenes in the future, but when I started writing these it just kept coming so there's a bit more Mark for awhile. No worries, no MAddison sex!**

"Shit," Addison said as she tried to slide the keycard in the door. "I can't get it to work."

Mark laughed from across the hall where he was opening his own door. "Maybe that's because that isn't your room. You're one to the right."

"Oh. Damnit!"

Mark closed his door and walked across the hall. "Here, clearly you're too intoxicated to handle this on your own." He took the keycard from her hand and swiped it, opening the door for her.

"Thank you, Mark," she said as she looked up at him after she walked in the room. "Are you coming?"

"Addison…" but before he could finish her lips were on his as she pulled him into her room and closed the door. She ran her hands up his arms and pulled off the black leather jacket that she always thought he looked so hot in as he ran his arms down her sides. She pushed him toward the bed as she moved her lips to his neck. "Addison…" he said again.

"No, no talking," she said, barely audible as she continued to kiss him.

It took all the strength Mark had in his body to sit up as he gently pushed Addison off of him. "Addison, we can't do this."

"Mark, come on, it's what we do. I get drunk, and have sex with you."

"Not this time."

"What? Why? I thought you were in love with me," she said, starting to pout and rubbing her hand on his thigh.

"I do, Addison, more than you could ever know, which is why I'm not going to let you do this to yourself. As much as I'd love to sleep with you tonight, it's not right."

"And since when are you, Mark Sloan, the morality police?"

Mark had to laugh at that one. "Ever since I decided I want to prove to you how much I care about you. I'm not in this for the sex, Addison. I don't want a relationship only about sex. I want you, all of you, and until you decide if you want the same thing, I'm not having sex with you." Mark stood up and headed for the door.

"Mark, wait," Addison said, a few tears escaping down her cheeks.

He turned around. "What?"

She walked over to him and softly kissed him. He could taste the remaining vodka and whiskey on her lips. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything you've said tonight," she said, suddenly appearing to be much more sober. "Despite the fact that it's making my life much more complicated than it needs to be, I appreciate it."

Mark nodded and pulled her into a hug before he opened the door to leave. "Mark…"

"Yes?"

"Stay with me tonight."


	33. Chapter 33

"What? Addison, no…"

"No, I don't mean sex. Just stay here with me. I don't want to be alone tonight." Mark nodded and closed the door and Addison went into the bathroom to shower. When she came beck out she was in wearing flannel pajama shorts and her medical school tee shirt, and towel drying her hair. Mark couldn't help but think she looked just as beautiful now as she did everyday at work when she was wearing Prada and Gucci, and it took all of his willpower not to cave in and have sex with her. "Ugh, I think I'm more drunk than I thought I was," she said as she put her towel down and sat on the bed, rubbing lotion on her legs.

Mark chuckled. "Why do you say that?"

"Because every time I close my eyes the room starts spinning."

"Oh. Here, take these," he said as he handed her a glass of water and two aspirin. "Take a pre-emptive strike against the hangover.

Addison did as she was told. "Thank you," she sincerely said to Mark, who was making a bed on the couch in her room. "Mark, what are you doing?"

"Uh, getting ready for bed?" He answered as he lifted his sweater over his head and stripping down to his boxers.

"That couch is really uncomfortable, just so you know."

"I think I'll manage."

"Mark, seriously. Just get your ass over here. We've slept together before, it's not a big deal. I promise I won't jump you."

"Addison, when have we ever slept together without 'sleeping' together?"

Addison thought for a second and scrunched up her face when she realized he was right. "Well, there's a first time for everything. Stop being such a baby and get over here."

Mark took a deep breath and realized Addison wasn't going to give this up, so he complied. He unmade the right side of the bed and got in under the covers, turning on his side as Addison nuzzled up to him.

"Thank you, for staying with me Mark."

"My pleasure," he said as he kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her tiny body.

** GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA **

Mark awoke in the middle of the night, somewhat disoriented. He recognized that he was in Addison's room and remembered the events of the night before, but she was no where to be found. He looked over at the clock and it was 5am—they had gone to bed around 3:30 and she didn't have to be in until 7, so he was confused. He got up and walked to the bathroom when he noticed the light coming through the cracked open door. " Addison?" Mark peaked his head in and saw Addison sitting on the ground with her head against the wall.

"Ugh. Definitely more drunk than I thought I was," she barely had time to say that before she was hunched over the toilet yet again.

Mark went back into the room, grabbed a glass, and filled it up with water. "Here you go," he said as handed her the glass before he went to wet a washcloth with cold water. He got down on the floor next to her and wiped her face gently with the cloth before putting it around her neck to help cool her down.

"Thank you, Mark," she said as she slowly sipped the water. She got sick yet again, so he held back her hair and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Mark, you don't have to do this."

"I know, but I'm here, so I may as well."

"Well thank you," she said as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You're welcome."

**A/N: So I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed my chapters, especially mfkgnst for being so honest. I promise that Addex will return shortly, and again, there's no MAddison sex in this fic. **


	34. Chapter 34

A few hours later Addison awoke back in her bed. She looked around trying to figure out what happened—the last thing she could remember was throwing up in the bathroom. She looked at the clock and started to panic when she realized she was supposed to be at work an hour ago. "Mark? How could you let me oversleep?" She asked when Mark walked back in the room.

"Addie, you're exhausted, you're sick, and you're in no shape to operate on anyone. I called the Chief and told him you were sick and to reschedule your surgeries."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

"Here, sip some of this," he said as he brought her a Sprite that he had gone to get from the vending machine.

"Thanks. So how did I end up back in bed?"

"You passed out in the bathroom last night, so when I thought you were done being sick for good I brought you back in here. I figured the bed would be more comfortable than the bathroom floor."

"Oh, thanks." Addison drank a bit of the Sprite, and it seemed to help a bit with her remaining nausea. "Wait, we didn't…."

"No, we didn't."

"Seriously?" Addison was in disbelief. She couldn't remember the last time she had been drunk in a room with Mark and didn't have sex with him.

"Seriously. You tried, but I didn't think it was a good idea."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"So how much of last night do you remember?" Mark asked her.

"Everything up until we came back up here, maybe parts of our conversation downstairs at the lounge are a bit unclear. I don't really know." She looked down at the Sprite Mark had brought her and took another sip. "I remember our other conversation Mark, and I want to thank you for saying all those things to me. I probably didn't handle it all that well, judging by my hangover this morning, but it was nice to hear. And thank you for staying with me last night."

"You're welcome. And I meant every word of it, Addie."

Addison nodded. "I know, Mark." She looked up at him and could tell he felt a little uncomfortable as he pulled on his sweater from last night and got ready to go. "Where are you going? Do you have to work soon?"

"No, I have the day off, actually. I just figured now that you're up, you might want some time to yourself and time to rest."

"Mark, please don't leave. I may not know what I ultimately want to do, but I don't want to be alone today."

Mark nodded and came over to sit next to her on the bed. "Okay, do you want me to go get you something to eat from downstairs?"

"Ugh, I don't know if I'm up for eating much of anything."

"How about some dry toast or waffles or something?"

Addison nodded. "Sure, that'd be great."


	35. Chapter 35

** A/N: Last chapter tonight, and I'm glad you guys are all okay with where this is going. I promise it will go someplace good!  
**

A few hours later Addison had managed to keep down the Sprite and the toast, and her hangover had subsided a little bit. Addison and Mark were sitting in her bed talking and watching bad soap operas. "Okay, see, she would never go for him, because he allegedly raped her twin sister."

"Addison, it's television, it's not real. More importantly, it's a soap opera, so it's definitely not real."

"I know, but still," she said as she grabbed a handful of pretzels from the bag sitting in Mark's lap.

"Hey, I thought you were too sick to eat. Stop stealing my food," he said snatching the bag and putting it on the opposite side of him, out of Addison's reach.

"Don't be such a baby!" Addison pouted as she tried to reach for the bag but Mark swatted her hand out of the way.

"That face won't work on me, you know that," he said smirking, giving her the McSteamy face.

"And that one won't work on me. Come on, I'm hungry." She crawled over Mark to reach for the bag of pretzels, but he picked up the bag and held it above his head out of her reach. "Oh, give me a break," she said, still laying across his stomach before she pushed herself back up and sat down next to him.

"Promise you won't puke on me?"

Addison rolled her eyes and smiled sarcastically. "I promise."

"Okay then." Mark put the bag back on his lap and threw a handful of pretzels at her.

"Thanks for that," she laughed as she picked up the pretzels that were now all over the bed.

"No problem!" He gave her a cheesy grin, to which she couldn't help but laugh. "This is nice…I miss this," he said, returning to a serious demeanor.

She looked over at him, gave a small smile, and sighed. "Yeah, me too." Addison returned her focus to the television, taking a deep breath as she munched on the pretzels and tried to stop the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She felt so torn, so conflicted, and she didn't know what to do. She really liked Alex, and even though he was so much younger than she was and he was just an intern, they had so much fun together and she could really see something developing from that. But at the same time, she had been in love with Mark for so long, and a part of her would always love him. She thought that this feeling could be attributed to the fact that Mark had been such a big part of her life for so long, and that all people still felt that way about their exes, but something was different. While she still cared for Derek, she didn't feel for him the way she felt for Mark, even though she and Derek had been together for so much longer. But she was afraid—afraid of Mark cheating on her again, afraid of missing the opportunity for something great with Alex.

Mark looked down at Addison and could tell something was bothering her. "What are you thinking?"

She paused for a second before looking up at him. "Things."

He nodded, knowing exactly what she meant by that. He didn't want to push her, but he didn't want to risk losing her to Karev. He tried to think of what else he could say to her that he hadn't already said, but he realized that the decision was ultimately up to her—he just hoped that she made the right one.

Addison could tell exactly what Mark was thinking about when she looked up at him—she was always able to read his expression so clearly. She could see the glint of hope behind his eyes, mixed with understanding. She leaned her head against his shoulder and continued watching TV, feeling comforted as he wrapped an arm around her and their breathing in unison.

They sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes before Mark spoke up. "Addison…"

"Hmm?" She was almost annoyed at him for ruining the moment.

"Regardless of what happens, of what you decide, I don't want to lose you as a friend. I don't want to lose this."

Addison looked up at him and smiled. "I don't either." She laid her head back down on his shoulder and rested her arm on his chest still contemplating what she would do.


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: This is my only update until later tonight. My college is trying to break a world record later today for the number of people doing the "Thriller" dance, so I'm going to that, and then I have actual dance class and a sorority thing, so I won't be back until much later. Enjoy! And thanks again for all the reviews. You guys are awesome! **

Meanwhile, Alex went into work at 4:00 and looked for Addison in his down time. She had seemed kind of off to him last night, and he wanted to make sure everything was okay. Ever since she disappeared with Mark at Joe's, he was worried about her. What did Mark say to her that made her want to leave Joe's so quickly? Why did she act weird back at the hotel? "Hey, Torres, have you seen Addison?"

Callie turned around when she heard Alex, knowing what was probably going through his mind. "No, not today. Someone said she called in sick."

"Oh, okay." Alex went back to work, and planned on calling Addison as soon as he had a chance.

**GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA**

Apparently she fell asleep, because she woke up a later on still using Mark as a pillow. "Why hello," he said to her in a husky voice when he saw her stir and wake up.

"How long was I asleep for?" She asked as she sat back up and yawned.

"A little over two hours."

"Oh, sorry about that."

"Don't be. You're hungover and you need your rest," he said as he stood up. "I'm actually going to go. I have some stuff I need to get done before work tomorrow."

Addison got up to walk him out. "Okay. And thanks again for staying with me last night, and today, and for taking care of me last night."

"Don't mention it." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek as he opened the door to leave, but before he could close the door she pulled him in and kissed him softly, just barely parting his lips with hers.

"I'll think about it, I really will," she said, her eyes on the verge of producing tears.

He nodded and she closed the door behind him. Both were left wondering what the hell they were going to do.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: THis will be my only updated until much later tonight. I have class from 9am-4:30, and then I have acting class at 7 for three hours, which means I miss greys :( But I'll download it and all will be well. **

Addison took a shower to clear her head and try to think things over, rationally. When she was with Alex, she wanted Alex, but when she was with Mark, she fell in love with him all over again. She wasn't in love with Alex, yet, but she thought she maybe could be. But at the same time, she always had told herself that Alex would just be a fling, because she couldn't seriously see herself ending up with someone so much younger than her.

Addison walked back into her hotel room wearing a big fluffy robe, feeling much better—she hadn't made a decision, but at least her hangover was completely gone and she wasn't nauseous at all anymore. She could hear her phone ringing so she ran to her purse to find it. "Hello?"

"Addison? Hey it's Alex."

Addison took a deep breath and smiled, hoping she could cover up the confusion in her voice. "Hey Alex, what's up?"

"Callie said you called in sick today, are you okay? You've seemed weird ever since last night."

Addison sighed. "I think I just had a temporary stomach bug, or food poisoning or something. I'm fine now, though."

"And you're sure everything else is fine?"

"Yeah." Addison contemplated telling Alex what was going on, but she didn't want to have him freak out on her, especially if she ended up choosing him—there was no need to get him worked up over nothing. "Are you off work?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I figured we could make up for last night."

"Oh, I'd love to, but I made plans to go with one of my college friends who is in town this weekend to a Seahawks game."

"Oh, okay. Some other time then."

"Definitely. I'll see you tomorrow at work?"

"Yep." They hung up the phone and she tried not to feel sad that she couldn't see Alex tonight. She was hoping that if she saw him she could make a decision. Addison was in the mood to go out, and Alex not being available wasn't going to stop her. She quickly changed into a long sleeve shirt and jeans, grabbed her purse, and walked out of her hotel room. She was about to do the one thing she never thought she would, but it was the only way she could solve her problem. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

**A/N: Dun dun dun, what is she gonig to do? It's good, I promise! **


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long. It's been a crazy week! Thanks for the reviews...keep them coming! I'll post another one a little later, and you'll see more where I'm going with this, and what Addison is doing.  
**

Addison walked into Joe's bar and immediately ordered a shot—even though she drank more than she should have last night, she knew she needed some liquid courage to do what she was about to do. As she stood at the bar she saw Mark talking to some blonde at a table by the dartboard, causing Addison to roll her eyes. "It figures," she said under her breath, feeling like her mind had just been made up for her. However, she quickly noticed that the blonde walked away and out of the bar, looking defeated and more importantly, alone. Did Mark Sloan actually just reject a potential lay? Maybe he had grown…maybe he was sincere.

Immediately after the blonde left, Addison noticed the group of female interns walk in and promptly order drinks from Joe. "Three beers, please Joe," Izzie ordered as she sat down a few feet from Addison. "Oh, hi Dr. Montgomery."

"Dr. Stevens, Yang, Grey," she said nodding as she finally downed the shot that had been sitting in front of her.

"Hey guys, I'll be right back," Meredith said, excusing herself to go to the bathroom.

Suddenly, Mark approached her. "Do you think it's a good idea for you to be drinking after last night?" Mark said as he paid off his tab at the bar.

"Probably not. But there's something I need to do. Are you going to be around later?" She asked in a low voice, as if she were trying to hide her conversation from the interns. She figured by now all of the hospital had at least heard rumors of her relationship with Alex, and she didn't want the rumor mill to get anymore out of hand.

"Around here or the hotel?"

"The hotel. I may need to talk to you."

Mark nodded. "Of course. I'll see you later." He gently smiled at her before he turned around to leave.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: Sorry sorry sorry! It's been forever (well, for me anyway) since I've updated, and I'm sorry! My life has been hectic...between midterms, internship apps, sorority rush (go zeta tau alpha!) i've been crazy busy. Here's the update :) **

Addison then walked to the back hallway of the bar toward the bathroom, when she saw Meredith come out of the single bathroom and nearly ran into her. "Oh, excuse me Dr. Montgomery." Addison didn't say anything. Instead she grabbed Meredith's elbow and pulled her back into the bathroom from which she had just emerged, thinking of the irony of the situation and how Mark had done the same thing to her the night before. "Addison, what are you doing?"

Addison locked the door and turned around to face Meredith, who had a look on her face that looked like a mixture of confusion and fear. "Relax, Grey, I'm not going to do anything to you." Meredith just continued to stare at Addison, more confused than she had ever been in her life. Addison took a deep breath, and then started speaking: "Okay, this is really, really awkward, and random, I know, but I really need your advice. And I understand if you don't want to have this conversation with me given our history, but you should realize that me coming to you at all with this just shows you how desperate I am. So I'm just going to push past the weirdness of this and just ask you anyway…"

"Okay…"

"When you had to decide between Derek and Finn, how did you decide?"

Meredith's face turned red briefly, but she quickly regained her composure. "What?"

"When you had to choose between the two men in your life, how did you decide?"

"I don't really remember since I was high on Morphine for most of that day, but Derek walked away and told me to pick Finn, but I just couldn't do it. Why?"

"Damn. I was hoping you'd have more advice. Damnit!" Addison softly banged her head against the back of the door.

"Addison, what the hell is going on?"

Addison looked over at Meredith and thought she could use someone else to talk to about this. Callie was a good listener, but she had never been in this position before, whereas Meredith had been in almost the exact same situation just a few months earlier. "If Derek hadn't walked away at first, would you still have picked him, even though he had hurt you in the past, lied to you about me, and everything else? Or would you have gone with the new man who you didn't know as well, but seemed to be compatible with?"

"I don't know. I didn't know at the time, but as soon as Derek walked away I realized he was it. I think in the end that I would have chosen him anyway. Despite the pain he's caused me in the past, I couldn't get him out of my mind. I don't think I would have lasted with Finn for very long."

Addison nodded as she digested the information. Mark was her Derek, and Alex was her Finn, or at least she thought so. She wasn't sure if she ever really loved Mark. She had loved Derek, but Mark was just a substitution—she thought her relationship with Mark had always been more about lust than love, at least on her end.

"Addison, what is going on? You can tell me, and maybe I can give you some better advice."

Meredith seemed to genuinely care, so Addison decided to open up. "Okay, so I'm sure you've heard about me and Alex…"

"Seriously? I thought those were just crazy rumors. I didn't know there was any truth to them."

"No, they're true…well most of them are. We actually came clean to the Chief a few days ago. But anyway, everything is going great with him, and we have chemistry and I really care about him, but then there's Mark…"

"Ah, yeah. So what did Mark do?"

Addison looked over at Meredith and couldn't believe she was about to say what she was about to say. "Mark and I have hooked up a few times since he took the job here, and he's been so interested in pursuing a relationship, but I've been blowing him off. I ended up getting pregnant about a month and a half ago, and took the abortion pill. He found out and flipped out, much more than I expected him to. We've been fighting ever since, but recently, and last night especially, he's just been so sweet and telling me he loves me and blah blah blah. Ugh I don't know what to do!"

Meredith's jaw was on the ground. When the shock finally wore off she started talking again. "Okay, wow. Um…does Alex know about the pregnancy?"

"No. But he was so caring when my niece was here, that I can't imagine him getting too angry about the abortion. It's not like it affects him anyway."

"No, I know. Um…yeah wow, I don't know what to tell you. What does your gut instinct say?"

"Honestly? I don't know. It's telling me that Alex is probably more likely just a fling, but at the same time that Mark will only end up hurting me again, and he'll just turn into a booty call yet again."

"Maybe that's your answer…maybe you should just take some time to yourself for awhile to figure out what you want, rather than jumping into a relationship with either one of them. I couldn't decide, so I told them that I wanted to date both of them and that I wouldn't sleep with either of them until I made a decision. The whole dating thing kinda went to Hell when my appendix decided it wanted to flare up, but other than that it was fun."

Addison thought about it for a minute. "Maybe you're right, maybe I should take a step back with both of them, let them know what's going on, and go from there. It isn't fair to Alex to string him along if my heart's not fully in it, and it's not fair to Mark if he is sincerely feeling what he says he is."

"There's your answer."

"Thank you, Meredith, really."

Meredith smiled. "You're welcome, Addison."

"And if you could not mention this to anyone, especially Derek…"

Meredith laughed. "Your secret is safe with me." Meredith exited the bathroom and Addison looked at herself in the mirror before taking a deep breath and gathering her things to leave.


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: Guys I'm so sorry that this took so long. I've been crazy busy with the end of the trimester coming up, finals, sorority stuff, etc…is anyone still reading this? If so I'll keep writing, if not I'll just kinda summarize what I want to happen and focus more on the other ones. And I have some new ideas as well, so yeah. Let me know!**

Addison paid her tab as she waved to Joe and took a cab back to her hotel. She took the elevator up to the 22nd floor, and walked over to Mark's door. He answered almost immediately after she knocked. "Hey Mark, we need to talk."

He nodded. "Sure. Come on in." She walked in and sat down on the end of his bed. "Can I get you anything?"

"No I'm fine, thanks." She took a deep breath and he leaned against the dresser, facing her. "Okay, so after giving it some thought, I think it'd be best if I just took a step back for awhile. I need some time to put things back into perspective and to figure out what I really want. I ran to you after Derek left me, you cheated on me, I came back here, Derek leaves me again for Meredith, I run to you again to use you as a booty call…Mark, I need time to gain perspective on my life. It's not fair to you or to Alex to string you along."

Mark nodded. "I understand completely, Addison. Take all the time you need."

She let out a sigh of relief as she stood up. "Thank you, Mark." She kissed him on his cheek before she let herself out.


End file.
